Christopher Yates's First Fiction Feature, Night Vision, Heads to Tallinn

Christopher Yates's first fiction feature, Night Vision (Öised nägemused), will have its world premiere at the 30th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) in Estonia. The film debuts in the festival's Rebels with a Cause competition on 14 November, The Hollywood Reporter reported.

The story follows Jenny, a young filmmaker who buys an old video camera at a flea market. Inside the camera is a tape, and on it she finds strange artifacts and presences. The film mixes live action with animated segments.

Night Vision is a self-produced, low-budget film. Parts of it were shot in Yates's own Brussels apartment, so many of the rooms the audience sees were, in effect, a working set. Sandra Fassio co-wrote the film and co-produced it with Yates. Leonor Malamatenios served as cinematographer, and Matthieu Jamet-Louis handled the editing.

The cast includes Salomé Crickx, Pierre Gervais and Angelo Bison.

Yates has worked in documentary and television before this. He directed the 2009 documentary Not Here, about the rock band Girls in Hawaii. He co-directed Reveka (2015), which looks at the mines of Potosí in Bolivia. He is also co-creator and co-writer of Public Enemy, a Belgian series.

For a film made on a small budget, a festival slot can be the first time strangers see it. Festivals such as Tallinn Black Nights bring together audiences, critics and the sales agents and buyers who decide which films reach cinemas and streaming services later. A premiere in a competition section puts a title in front of that crowd from the start.

The Tallinn festival is where the film will first be seen by the public. Its run in the Rebels with a Cause competition begins on 14 November.